CD Review: Mister Barringto "Can't Turn Back"

Firmly affixed to the leading edge of musician-played, programmed, and spontaneously triggered electronica, Mister Barrington (keyboardist Oli Rockberger, drummer Zach Danziger, and bassist Owen Biddle) further flashes its range on album number three.

Firmly affixed to the leading edge of musician-played, programmed, and spontaneously triggered electronica, Mister Barrington (keyboardist Oli Rockberger, drummer Zach Danziger, and bassist Owen Biddle) further flashes its range on album number three. The opener, “Talk About It,” with its cascading sonics and killer bridge, continues the trio’s singer–songwriter bent, as Rockberger’s soaring vocals rival Thundercat’s falsetto for emotional impact in the idiom. “Justify” summons ’80s R&B singles, with Biddle playing fast and loose around the synth bass core. On the more rock-grounded “Heal the Pain,” his bass line counters the vocal before erupting into free-form filling in the rubato breakdown. On the instrumental side, the Danziger-led “News at Eleven” has a Weather Report ethic as it traverses multiple feels. Finally, there’s Biddle’s bass anthem bid via the ’70s funk-nodding “Kryptonite,” which renders his percolating sub-hook an indestructible force.

Having made three recordings and played countless concerts with Anthony Jackson and drummer Simon Phillips, gifted piano goddess Hiromi set out to capture the super-trio’s live spontaneity and vivacity on her latest studio effort.

While we await Tal Wilkenfeld’s singer/songwriter second album, there’s no doubt she has immersed herself in the craft, appearing on upcoming recordings with Jackson Browne, Brian Wilson, and Joe Walsh, and here providing the bottom for Ryan Adams’ impressive first effort in three years.

The music mogul/trumpeter’s longtime gift for casting great compositions in the latest light has taken on an added dimension over his last three CDs, with the inclusion of his terrific touring band, which features keyboardist Bill Cantos, drummer Michael Shapiro, and bass force Hussain Jiffry.